Showing The Money

Daniel Snyder Has Spent Millions On The Redskins, And Their Fans Are Already Paying The Price.

July 25, 2000|By Don Pierson, Tribune Pro Football Writer.

ASHBURN, Va. — If practice makes perfect, it makes perfect sense to the Washington Redskins to charge for it. So they became the first NFL training camp to charge admission last week, and the people who showed up appeared perfectly happy to pay for the privilege of being a fan.

The Redskins proclaimed it an immediate success, even though the crowds of fewer than 3,000 the first three days were about half of what they planned for, and fewer than other teams draw in much more remote (and free) locations, such as Platteville, Wis.

On weekends, the Redskins have a permit to accommodate 15,000. On the first Sunday, the crowd was estimated at 6,000. But this is the new "NFL Experience," the carnival and commercial atmosphere that is becoming permanently attached to everything associated with the NFL. Provided fans paid $10 to park and another $10 to get in (under 12 is free), kept video cameras outside, then signed an injury waiver, they could get timed in a 40-yard dash behind the bleachers, push a blocking sled, kick extra points, throw footballs through little holes, or buy a beer for $6, a single-dip ice cream cone for $3.14 or a Deion Sanders jersey for $59.95. They also could sign up for the Redskins' season-ticket waiting list of "only 15 to 20 years."

The "NFL Experience" is available at the camp of the Detroit Lions in Saginaw, Mich, no admission. By charging, NFL rules stipulate the Redskins cannot prevent opposing scouts from attending and taking notes, and the hated Dallas Cowboys have promised to do just that.

If Redskins fans can tear themselves away from the air-conditioned food and souvenir tents, they can watch Jeff George throw a football and Deion Sanders knock it down, which just might be worth a few bucks at that. The Redskins have assembled a roster that resembles a Pro Bowl team during practice, with certain Hall of Famers Sanders and Darrell Green alternating at right cornerback behind Bruce Smith rushing the passer.

Taking it all in on his luxuriously padded lawn chair between fields is 35-year-old Daniel Snyder, who paid to get in as well. His record $800 million purchase of the franchise last year allowed him to proudly join the short line of eccentric Redskins owners. George Preston Marshall was the last of his brethren to integrate his team. Jack Kent Cooke never met a wife or son he really liked as much as his team, failing to bequeath enough of his billionaire estate to son John ("Johnny Cakes," dad called him) for him to keep the team off the seller's block. Enter Snyder, who made his money in marketing and evidently is an expert on gauging just how much the public can be gouged.

Snyder refused requests to be interviewed, not even entertaining a visit between his lounge chair and helicopter parked near an end zone. He sent minions to do the explaining for this NFL first, and club President Stephen Baldacci said charging admission was "not a business decision." It was, he said, about "kids jumping up and down and parents smiling."

With fans such as Tim Oyler of Winchester, Va., who happily admitted "the least we can do" is help Snyder pay for his athletes, the Redskins may start a leaguewide trend, unless the sentiment of the thousands who did not show up the first week prevails. Terri Chang, who lives only a few miles away in Herndon, Va., recalls growing up in Pittsburgh and refuses to plunge into the Redskins' new revenue stream.

Coach Norv Turner rationalized that he had recently spent $70 to take his family to see "a bad movie." Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said: "The Redskins under Dan Snyder are really working hard to create value for their fans. I think the cost is minimal compared to other things people do. The fans will determine what the values are."

Sanders, who signed for an $8 million bonus on a $56 million contract, was asked why he appeared to be having so much fun practicing.

"We make a lot of money doing what we're doing, I don't know if you know that," Sanders said. "This is a child's game that somebody was a fool enough to pay us for."

Sanders, 33, has played for high-profile Super Bowl owners Eddie DeBartolo Jr., in San Francisco and Jerry Jones in Dallas and says Snyder has "something in common" with both: "They all want to win at all costs and they want to win now."